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December 6, 2017

Simply Delicious Chana Masala

Before starting Vegan Rhapsody I would use my collection of food magazines, recipe books or social media sites (notably Pinterest) for cooking inspiration. I’ve noticed in the last few months that inspiration can be rather serendipitous….. an impromptu “water cooler” conversation, in spotting an ad on a transit bus on the way to work or in scanning the grocery items belonging to the customer ahead of you in the grocery aisle . Today’s recipe was inspired by a colleague who was asking for suggestions on what to bring to a potluck dinner this weekend. Someone piped up “you can’t go wrong with Chana Masala”. I certainly wasn’t thinking about Indian food prior to that moment, but I instantly started visualizing chickpeas and fresh tomatoes sitting in a simmering tangy tomato-based sauce….and the creative spark was lit ☺️

I’ve shared a few variations on some classic Indian dishes, includingVegan Curry Sauce and Vegan Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice, but this time I wanted to take a ‘no frills’ approach with this curry sauce: no cashews, no coconut milk or no chilies. Here I use chickpeas, onions, garlic, fresh tomatoes and fresh herbs bursting with flavour – that’s it. I wanted to let these simple ingredients shine….and they do. This sauce is delectable with the perfect balance of tanginess, sweetness and heat. You’ll notice that naan bread is ‘MIA’ from the photograph for this recipe – stay tuned 😉. While I think of it, vegan-friendly paneer would be incredible….stay tuned for that as well . It’s going to be a busy next few months….just the way I like it!

Instructions

1/Add onion, garlic, ginger root and cilantro to the Thermomix mixing bowl. Chop 5 sec/Speed 7. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to collect the minced mixture at the base of the bowl.
Note: Skip this step if you’re coconut oil is soft/liquid at room temperature)

3/Add dry spices to the TM bowl (cumin, coriander, chili powder) and salt. Sauté 3 min/120C/Speed 1. Once again, use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and collect the sautéed mixure at the base of the bowl.

Note: This recipe was made using a Thermomix appliance, however it can easily be adapted using similar food prep tools (e.g. mutli-function processor, immersion blender etc) or using a more traditional stovetop method.